A hilarious companion to the New York Times bestselling Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don’t) about the power of stories and storytelling. Missy loves her librarian, Miss Brooks. And she loves to go to Miss Brooks’ before-school story time. But to get to Story Nook, she has to pass Billy Toomey’s house—and she does not love Billy Toomey. Billy always tries to steal her hat and jeers, “I’m going to get you!” It’s vexing. Then one rainy (and hatless) day, Miss Brooks changes story hour to storytelling hour. She teaches the kids about characters and plot and action and satisfying conclusions and encourages them to make up their own tales. And that’s when Missy has a brainstorm. She sees a way to use her made-up story to deal with her real-life bully. In this terrifically funny ode to inventiveness and ingenuity, Barbara Bottner and Michael Emberley celebrate the power of stories and how they can help us to rewrite our own lives.

Miss Brooks’ Story Nook would be a great picture book to use in the classroom to teach students about the elements in a story. Missy arrives late to Miss Brooks’ Story Nook because of annoying Billy Toomey. During the story time, the power goes out and Miss Brooks tells the class that it will be storytelling time instead. Missy learns how to tell a story by using her experience with Billy as inspiration to invent fictional characters, setting, plot and problem to be solved. This is a fun and imaginative story with lively young characters that will appeal to a wide audience.